Childlike
by AllyGal123
Summary: A series of one-shots about the homunculi as present-day children. Each chapter is episodic; not in regular story format, but relating to one another. Ships are not the main focus, but I may throw in a few in the future.
1. Greed's Routine

**Childlike**

* * *

It was the same as always: wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, come home, eat dinner, and go to bed.

However, this didn't stop him from bending the rules just a tiny bit. What's wrong with a little fun?

* * *

Waking up; it was kind of annoying to be interrupted from his slumber, - especially from that damned alarm clock - but Greed knew that waking up meant a new day of mischief.

He would set his alarm earlier than his siblings, for an important purpose, of course; he wanted to be a good older brother and wake them.

'A nice bucket of water should do the trick,' Greed mused, filling up a toy pail with tap water. He hopped off of the stepping stool by the sink and crept into his favorite little brother's room.

Slowly pushing the door open with one arm, the other securing the pail, Greed snuck up to the little boy's bed. Just as he was about to do the deed -

BRIIIIING!

Greed shrieked and the pail flew out of his arms, falling onto his own clothing. The little mop of hair lying on the bed jerked awake to see his older brother soaked in what looked like his next prank.

"Good morning, Greed." Envy giggled.

"Can it, you palm tree!" Greed grumbled, stripping the now wet pajama top from his small frame.

Envy just smiled and hopped off his bed, clicking off the alarm. "You'll have to get me next time, shark teeth!" he taunted.

With another grumble, Greed trudged out of Envy's room, into his own, to change.

* * *

Eating breakfast; it was always eventful in the Angevin family.

You had Gluttony, the three-year-old who would shove everything into his mouth, partial, but not limited to, another person's limb.

Lust, the ten-year-old who did her best to ignore everyone at the table by reading a book or something of the sort, occasionally helping feed Gluttony.

Envy, the six-year-old who had to do a sniff test on every plate to see if it was fit for eating. If nothing interested him, he would simply leave the table to go doodle or attempt proper conversation with one of the adults.

Sloth, the five-year-old who slept in his food or complained about the morning or what was to come. He also drooled a lot, much to Lust's chagrin.

And Greed, the eight-year-old who caused a ruckus every morning: demanding what he wanted to eat, starting food fights, hiding something icky in everyone's food but his, pretty much the reason for morning migraines.

There was also Pride, the eleven-year-old, but he normally sat on the couch, having a conversation with his favorite Uncle Wrath, bragging about his good grades and large friend group.

Coming down the stairs to his siblings already at the table, Greed pouted. He was hoping to play a good prank during breakfast after his previous attempt failed. So much for surprising them with unnatural food.

"Good morning, Greed. I hope it wasn't you I heard making a fuss in Envy's room." Lust said, her eyes not leaving the book she read.

Greed rolled his eyes. "S'not like I was doing anything bad. Even if I was, it wouldn't work because of Envy's stupid alarm clock." he chided.

"That stupid alarm clock saved me from waking up soaking wet!" Envy retorted, shaking an angry fistful of bacon at his brother.

"Not me, it didn't." Greed mumbled while sitting down at the table. He leaned over the table to grab a piece of toast, but was stopped by Lust.

"You really need to learn some manners," she remarked. "Sit down and ask someone to pass you the plate of bread." Lust turned towards Envy, who visibly jumped under his sister's judging stare. "You, too. Stop waving that bacon around like it's some kind of rattle. Keep it on your plate where it's supposed to be."

Neither one bothered to argue with Lust; they knew the unpleasant results of that.  
So they just did as told and continued their breakfast routines respectively.

* * *

Going to school; the place where having fun is banned. Fun in Greed's eyes, that is.

If he makes so much as a peep in his class, the teacher will scold him and give him a red check next to his sticker name on the board.

Everyone had a sticker name in Greed's class. If you got a star next to your name, it meant you did something good. If you got a red check next to your name, it meant the opposite. Three stars meant a prize at the end of class. Three red checks meant no playtime.

Greed was the only student to successfully surpass the appropriate amount of red checks next to his name. So far, he had earned six today.

"I've had just about enough of your nonsense this week, Greed," the boy's teacher, Miss Lily, complained.

Miss Lily had asked Greed to stay after the bell for lunch rang, so she could give him a talk. Nothing he wasn't used to; she usually did this.

Greed idly sat, with a blank expression, while his teacher ranted on about behavior issues, calling home to his parents, and even having him suspended. Any other kid would have been in tears from the threats she was giving, but Greed knew better. Miss Lily never acted upon her empty threats.

When she was finally done reprimanding Greed, Miss Lily let him go, claiming that she couldn't keep a child from his lunchtime.

'Yeah, right,' Greed thought, strolling down the hallway with his hands in his pockets. 'She was just running out of lies to threaten me with. She'd totally keep me from lunch.'

* * *

Coming home; Greed had to meet up with Lust, Envy, and Pride to get home.

Lust was two grades higher than Greed. She was currently enjoying her literature section of writing in fourth grade. So when school ended, she was usually upset.

Envy was only just beginning school as a kindergartener. He was still learning the basic rules of school, getting in trouble quite a bit, but not as much as Greed. The teachers knew Envy was a smart boy, he just didn't use his brains too often and he had to suffer from the consequences.

Pride was the eldest, so that meant he was almost done with elementary school. He was always the one to hold up the trio while they not-so-patiently waited for his arrival. The boy would usually walk out with a small flock of admirers, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

Lust perked up at the sound of grass ruffling. "Pride's here, you guys." she alerted her younger brothers. Lust stood from the bench she was sitting on and placed her novel back into her shoulder-bag.

Greed got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "Finally! I swear he takes longer every day." he complained. The spiky-haired boy turned to his brother, who had his head shoved in a bush. "Come on, you weirdo. We're leaving." he sniffed.

Envy pulled himself out of the bush, a small, fuzzy caterpillar in his grasp. "Lookie what I found!" he squealed. "Isn't she cute? I'm gonna name 'er Lilac 'cuz I found 'er on one!"

Greed sighed and Lust looked uncomfortable. She was never really a fan of bugs. Envy continued to smile, placing the tiny caterpillar into his shirt pocket.

Pride strode over to the group. "Hello, kids. Ready to go?" he asked.

"We were ready a while ago, Pride," Lust drawled, straightening her glasses. "And could you please not refer to me as a kid? I'm barely a year younger than you and I'm already more mature." And with that, she walked off, leaving the three boys to follow after her.

Pride and Greed rolled their eyes while Envy cooed at his new pet, soon catching up to Lust.

* * *

Eating dinner; it was a little more organized than breakfast. The children's parents were present.

Quiet, it was definitely quiet this evening. Envy was actually using his utensils for once, Greed was acting as proper as he could be, and Sloth was silently picking at his food, occasionally teetering off into sleep, but catching himself before completely dozing off.

Lust, Pride, and Gluttony stayed pretty much the same as they did during breakfast, only Pride was at the dinner table, bragging to his parents instead of Uncle Wrath.

Dante, their mother, decided to settle on paying attention to Greed tonight.

"So, Greed," she began, slicing into a slab of meat with her knife. "How was your day?"

Greed inwardly groaned. He hated talking to his mother. She was so boring! But, he knew how to get her uninterested in speaking with him.

"Fine, Mother. We learned about cars and trucks today." Greed replied. He actually had no idea what his class had learned today, the spiky-haired boy just knew that his mother disliked cars.

"That's nice." she hummed, interest completely lost. Dante then turned to Envy, who seemed thrilled to have attention be put on him.

Greed chuckled under his breath at the sight of his younger brother trying to be impressive, and failing. Poor kid was never the center of attention. Not that anyone ever was, under Dante's glare.

* * *

Going to bed; usually Greed used this time to reminisce in all of the day's pranks, and possibly plot new ones, but today was rather uneventful, so he just spent it thinking.

'I wonder if tomorrow will be as boring as today was? Maybe I'll have to go with my gut's first decision and spice things up a bit.' Greed gave a toothy smirk at the thought. 'Little Envy's alarm won't get me this time. And that old hag Lust won't boss me around!'

Greed's smirk faded as he thought more about his family. 'I guess we're not all half bad. I like having everyone together each day like this. Not that I'd ever admit that to anyone.'

The spiky-haired boy shifted under his covers so that he was laying on his side. A small, genuine smile played across his lips. 'I like having my own part in this big ol' family. Here's to new adventures that await me tomorrow..!'

And with that last thought, Greed's eyes slipped closed and he drifted off to sleep.

To wake up to another day, that was full of a much more irritating Greed, who successfully annoyed everyone.

* * *

 **I hope everyone enjoyed my first chapter! The next one may come out later today, as this was meant to be posted yesterday. Please rate and review! :)**


	2. Lilac and Sand

Envy woke up with a start. He hastily hopped out of bed and peered out his window. The wild-haired boy then sighed and climbed back in.

'Another nightmare…' he thought drearily. 'And it seems like I've woken up before the sun again.'

Now unable to fall back asleep, Envy lied on his back, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. He could make out the intricate patterns of the tile, finding a tree and a few flowers. Or, at least, that's what his mind thought they looked like.

The boy sighed again and rolled over to his side, facing his alarm clock. He held a finger over the button that plays the classical radio station. 'I wonder if a little music can help me sleep.' Envy mused. He pushed the button and let the sweet sounds of Beethoven and Mozart lull him into a slumber.

* * *

This time, Envy woke to the sound of his alarm. He popped out of bed and quickly looked around, to see if he could find any signs of Greed. When he knew the coast was clear, Envy turned off his noisy clock and jumped out of his bed.

Making his way to the bathroom for morning rituals was another hazard for the wild-haired boy. You never knew what was lurking in the hallways or behind a closed door. It usually was Greed, but after listening to some spooky stories last year on Halloween, Envy knew to stay cautious.

Before stepping foot out of his room, Envy made sure to grab a flashlight. He tiptoed his way through the upper floor of his house, eyes roaming every nook and cranny of the place. Once finally at the bathroom, he slowly pushed the door open, shining his flashlight everywhere, before turning on the lights and setting the flashlight's off. Envy didn't hear the door close itself.

"BOO!" Greed shouted and jumped onto his little brother. Envy shrieked and fell to the ground.

"Get off me you big jerk!" Envy cried, tears brimming at his eyes. He flailed on the floor, attempting to push off his much larger older brother.

Greed chuckled darkly and got off Envy. "You're such a fraidy-cat." he mocked the poor boy.

Envy glowered from where he was sitting and wiped his eyes. "Leave me alone, Greed. And get out! I hafta use the bathroom!" Envy whined, slamming the door in Greed's face. "Stupid Greed…" he mumbled.

* * *

Breakfast went by rather quickly, with Lust reprimanding Greed for making a big ruckus too early in the morning. Lust won the argument, like she always did. Envy knew that his sister was only getting angry because she didn't like it to be too loud – well, louder than it already was – but he still liked the thought that she was doing it to stand up for him.

After saying their goodbyes to the nanny, Ms. Curchik, Envy, Greed, Lust, and Pride all headed out for school. Depending on the weather, they would either walk or take the bus. Today, it was nice and sunny out, so that meant they would walk.

Envy didn't mind. He enjoyed looking at all the plants and bugs and other little animals that you couldn't notice inside of a bus. Sometimes he would pack a little souvenir like a rock, to bring with him to school. However, today Envy already had something to bring – or rather, some _one_ to bring.

"-An' then I'm gonna show 'er to Miss B and she'll love Lilac so much that she'll wanna give me a big 'ol prize for finding such a cute lil' wormy!" Envy exclaimed, finishing his 15 minute story of how his day would be with his new pet Lilac.

Lust sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "First of all, Envy, it's not a worm. It's a caterpillar. Second of all, I highly doubt a caterpillar will get you more friends. If anything, it'll do the opposite. And third of all, no worm or caterpillar is going to get you a prize. No matter how cute." She explained monotonously.

Envy frowned slightly and looked toward the ground, his walking pace a little slower. Why did Lust always have to crush his enthusiasm with...what was it called…large ick? Well, her large ick was certainly icky. It made everything she thought right and everything everyone else thought wrong.

Before Envy could at least retort something positive, the quartet reached the large building known as school. Pride ran off to his class without so much as a goodbye to his siblings. Lust soon followed after, catching up with a friend.

Greed looked down at his moping little brother and slapped a hand on his back. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a reaction out of your bug." he said with a smirk. Sure, Greed's thought wasn't a positive reaction, but it was a reaction nonetheless. This made Envy smile a bit.

"Thanks, Greed. See ya later!" Envy called out to the spiky-haired boy that was running off into the distance. Envy stood in his spot and looked down at the caterpillar in his shirt pocket. "Looks like a new school day, huh Lilac? You'll like school, I'm sure of it." he spoke to the bug. After giving a long sigh, Envy ran to his class, right before the bell rang.

* * *

Math was definitely not Envy's favorite subject. He understood letters and such; how to say his ABC's. However, numbers were pretty tricky. What did the teacher mean when she said that numbers never end? Would Envy have to count all the way to the end one day? He really didn't want that day to come. For now, he would just stick with one through ten. That was another thing; why did they call it "ten"? Shouldn't it be called "one-zero"? It was all too confusing and weird for Envy's little brain to figure out!

Today, they were set up in pairs where they had to name every number. One partner would hold up a flash card with a number on it, and the other would have to say what number it was, and the one that came after it.

Envy's partner was a girl. She had short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a pretty pink dress. Envy and the girl didn't really know each other, so they had to introduce themselves, as did many other pairs.

"Hi," the girl chirped. She seemed really friendly, and had a nice smile. "My name is Winry! What's yours?"

Envy wore a big smile and pointed a thumb at his chest. "Mine's Envy! An' I got a pet cat-in-pill-her." he declared, and pulled out Lilac from his shirt pocket.

Winry's big blue eyes studied the bug. "Y'know, Miss B might not like seein' a bug like that in her class," warned the girl. "Not sayin' I don't like it. I think it's pretty cute! An' fuzzy, too." She reached out to pet Lilac.

Envy continued to smile as the little girl cooed over his pet. "Yeah, I know. But I don't think she'd go so far as to squash her." Envy replied and set the caterpillar back in his pocket.

"It's a girl?" Winry asked.

"Yep."

"Didja check?"

"What?"

"You gotta check ta see if it's a girl or a boy. That's what my granny did for our doggie, Den."

"Hm…I never thought about that…"

Miss B interrupted the two kindergartener's conversation. "Alright, class, now that everyone has met each other, please begin the project!" she said.

Winry grabbed the stack of flash cards and separated them into halves, keeping one and giving the other to Envy. "There! Now we both got-" she paused to count her cards. "-five!"

Envy counted his cards, with a little trouble, and ended up with the same answer. He looked back up at Winry with a puzzled look. "How'dja know how many to split 'em into?" he asked her.

Winry smiled. "It's just simple math! I'm real good at math, so you're lucky that you got me as a partner."

Envy curtly nodded and looked down at his cards. "I guess I'll go first." He pulled out a card with a weird circle-y number on it. "Um…I don't really know this one, so I'm glad you're doing it." he muttered shyly.

Winry giggled and patted Envy's shoulder. "It's okay, Envy. It's a number eight and it comes after seven and before nine." she explained.

Envy nodded again, still astonished at this girl's ability to understand numbers. He saw her pull up a number that looked like someone tried drawing a circle, but missed the top. The wild-haired boy smiled; he knew this number. "It's six," Envy said. "I know because it's how old I am."

Winry smiled and set the card down. "Alright, then. Your turn!" she cheered.

* * *

After lunchtime, it was recess. Envy's lunchtime was a little strange, because Lilac kept trying to escape his pocket and eat his sugar cookies. At least Envy now knew that she liked sugar.

Walking out to the playground, the boy spotted an unoccupied sandbox that still had a few castles in it. 'Perfect! Me an' Lilac can play there.' he thought happily. Envy skipped over to the sandbox and set Lilac down on a sand tower.

After playing pretend for a bit, Envy decided a castle was no castle without a moat. "I'm gonna go get some water for the moat, so you just stay here, okay Lilac?" he explained to his pet. Envy got up, dusted himself off, and headed over to the drinking fountain.

Envy came back with a small pail of water, to find that Lilac was no longer sitting on the sand tower. He set down the pail and ran to the sandbox in a frantic search. "Lilac? Lilac where did you go?" he cried, sifting through the sand.

Just as tears began forming in his eyes, a little boy came up from behind Envy. "Hey, are you looking for that green caterpillar that was lying there?" the boy asked. Envy turned around swiftly, his eyes bulging.

"Yes! Yes! Have you seen her?" he asked in a worried tone.

The boy merely smiled and pulled a hand from behind his back, revealing Lilac, munching on a leaf. "I found it crawling out of the sandbox. Looks like it was hungry, huh?" he chuckled.

Envy beamed and took the caterpillar from the boy's hand. "Thank you so much! I thought I'd lost her." he squealed. Envy looked up to meet eye with the boy. He was a little short, with golden blonde hair and eyes to match. He looked as if he had just rolled around in dirt, with his cheeks dusted brown and his clothes stained.

"It's no problem," the boy replied modestly, waving a hand in the air. "I really like bugs. All sorts of 'em. Caterpillars are really nice 'cuz they can turn into butterflies!" When Envy looked confused at the blonde boy's statement, he began to explain how caterpillar metamorphosis worked. "Yours will probably be yellow and black, from what my picture book says."

Envy was glad to find another person who liked Lilac just as much as he did. And maybe Lust was wrong this time; maybe Envy _could_ make a friend from his pet caterpillar. "My name's Envy. What's yours?" the wild-haired boy asked, placing Lilac back into his shirt pocket.

The other boy smiled and set his hands on his hips. "I'm Edward Elric and I'm five years old! But you can call me Ed."

Envy decided that he liked this Ed kid. When he was about to ask more about him, a whistle interrupted. A lady called for "Class C" to come back inside for study time. Envy was in Class B. However, Ed was in Class C, and he had to go.

"Sorry, that's me. We can talk tomorrow though, right?" Ed asked, and grinned when Envy nodded, smiling back. "Okay, then! See you later, Envy!" And with that, the blonde ran to his teacher along with the rest of his class.

Envy turned to go continue playing in the sandbox with Lilac.

* * *

After school, Envy skipped along ahead of his siblings, humming a happy tune.

"What's got you so chipper?" Lust asked, a ghost of a smile on her face.

Envy turned and smirked slyly. "You were wrong! I did make friends out of Lilac. One, two of them!" he affirmed, holding up two fingers.

Lust raised her eyebrows, then shrugged and walked farther past Envy. Greed laughed. "She's walking away because she's upset that she got something wrong." He sing-songed.

"That's not it! You guys are just walking slow. How was I supposed to know that the people in Envy's grade are creepy-bug lovers?" she harrumphed, earning another laugh from Greed.

Envy smiled all the way home.

* * *

That night, Ms. Curchik helped Envy create a little cage for Lilac. He didn't like calling it a cage, though, so he dubbed it "Lilac's Paradise". Ms. Curchik only smiled.

Envy had set Lilac's home on his bedside table, near a lamp. He smiled from under his covers, watching as she nibbled on a leaf. He learned that Lilac liked sugar and leaves, so that would definitely help her grow into one of those butterflies Ed was talking about.

His mind drifted more towards that blonde-haired boy. He wondered if he could actually make friends with him? The kid seemed nice enough. And Winry, what about her? She was good with those stinky numbers, plus she liked Lilac. Envy smiled and pulled the covers over his head so his giggles were muffled to anyone outside his room.

'I finally made some new friends!' was his last thought before he drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaand that's the second chapter! Boy am I pooped. A party cut in the middle of this story -.-"**

 **Well, anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. I'm proud to say that I already have two followers and a favorite on this fic! Let's keep 'em comin'!**


	3. The Serpent's Shadow

Lust liked to think of herself as the one who keeps her family in order. Although she wasn't the eldest child, she certainly acted like it. Pride may have seemed mature on the outside, but Lust – and pretty much the whole family – knew it was quite the opposite on the inside. The kid bragged all the time and barely paid any attention to his intermediate relatives. This was highly immature in Lust's eyes. The oldest child of a family should always look out for their younger siblings. So that's what Lust did.

Sure, Lust may come off as bossy or stuck-up, but in reality, she knew that she had to keep a straight and stern-looking attitude when handling her brothers. That's why she was the favorite child; she knew how to act.

If you were to ever find Lust on a Sunday afternoon, it'd probably be in her bedroom, with her sitting on the bed, a large novel shoved in her face. The sunlight from the window would sweep into the room and bounce off of Lust's brilliant ebony-colored hair – and yes, those were natural curls.

Today, conveniently a Sunday afternoon, Lust was doing just that; hastily reading off the last chapter of The Throne of Fire, the second book of 'The Kane Chronicles' series.

"…'I hope Walt is right and you'll find me hard to ignore' – yes, Sadie, you're very out there – 'because the clock is ticking. We'll keep a room ready for you at Brooklyn House.'" Lust read the last line of the book aloud, closed it, and sighed dreamily. "That was sooo goood! I absolutely love this series and I NEED the third novel!" she cried, flopping down on her back.

After quietly thanking the heavens that nobody saw her geek out like this, Lust got off of her bed and set the newly finished book into her bookshelf. "I'll have to check out The Serpent's Shadow, soon. Maybe I'll head out to the library today?" she absent-mindedly thought.

A knock was heard on her door. "Lust, are you talking to yourself again? You weirdo!" the girl heard her little brother's muffled voice shout from the other side of the door. Lust rolled her eyes.

"I was just thinking about going to the library, Greed. No need to shame me for being literate….and I do NOT talk to myself!" she called back. The ebony-haired girl heard a chuckle and the dissipating sound of footsteps, meaning her brother had left. "That little twerp is up to no good, I can just te-" Lust cut herself off, not wanting to give in to the fact that she had indeed been speaking to herself.

It was only around 2:00pm, so Lust had enough time to visit her beloved library and eat some lunch. She notified Ms. Curchik that she'd be heading out for a couple hours, and then gathered her essentials for the day.

A curious head popped up from behind the couch in the living room. Lust looked up to find her youngest sibling peering at her preparing to leave. She smiled and made her way over to the boy.

"Hello, Gluttony. You want to come to the library with me?" she asked softly.

Gluttony looked up at her with a bit of confusion in his eyes. "Li…bary?" he repeated.

Lust nodded, her curls bouncing beside her head. "Yes, the library. It's a place where you go to read. There is also a younger kid's section that you can go to; they have toys and picture books," the girl explained. Seeing Gluttony's unimpressed expression, she decided to add another important factor to her plans. "Of course, it is around lunch time, and I was planning to grab something to eat on my way there."

The chubby three-year-old's eyes lit up at the mention of food. "Lunch? I want, I want!" he cheered, waving his arms in the air – a motion to let one know that he wanted to be carried.

Lust chuckled and picked her brother up, walked to the front door, and set him down again. "I can't carry you all the way there, but I can hold your hand while you walk with me, okay?" she informed the youngest. Gluttony nodded and took Lust's much thinner hand in his chubby one.

The two walked outside of the house, waved at the gardener, and left to town. The neighborhood they lived in was very nice; although many rich families lived there, it was actually quite friendly. There was a shopping centre nearby – which was where they were headed to – that was always bustling with activity. Children were safe and trusted enough to be allowed to go to the cheerful town by themselves or with a group. It wasn't like they'd be harmed anyway, there were many law enforcers scattered around the gated community.

Arriving at the centre, Lust and Gluttony made their way towards a small café that the Angevin family went to quite frequently. They knew the owners. Stepping inside and getting a whoosh of cold air, the ebony-haired girl led Gluttony to a small table towards the back. She told him to stay put and went to stand in the surprisingly short ordering line.

"So many choices…" Lust mumbled, searching the menu. She knew Gluttony would eat pretty much anything, so that she didn't have to worry about. It's what _she_ was in the mood for. Finally, Lust decided on a simple bagel with cream cheese and green tea. She ordered her and her brother's meal, paid, and went back to the table with Gluttony.

The chubby boy looked up and beamed at his sister's returning form. "What you get me, Lust?" he asked, twiddling his fingers. Lust chuckled and sat down.

"I saw a fruity parfait on there that looked very yummy. I know you're supposed to be eating 'food-food' now, but one sweet treat shouldn't harm you." the girl said with a smile. Gluttony was a bit overweight, which could be fixed easily at his age, so their parents had set him on a strict diet. The boy was certainly okay with eating anything placed in front of him, but Lust could see that he missed his old snacks. Her youngest brother held a soft spot in her heart, therefore she, involuntarily, spoiled him to bits.

Her other siblings would complain about this unfair favoritism, and that she was "always mean to them, but treated Gluttony like a god," to quote Greed. Envy didn't seem to mind too much and Sloth never usually exploited his opinions, so Lust just ignored her annoying spiky-haired brother. He had to deserve special treatment if he wanted it.

A waiter came up to the two's table and set down Lust's tea and Gluttony's parfait. The man had assured Lust that her bagel would be out in a few minutes. She simply nodded and began stirring her drink. Gluttony wasn't even bothering to use a spoon, and it got a little messy. Lust sighed and grabbed a napkin, leaning forward to clean her brother's hands and face. "Use a spoon, Gluttony. Table manners." she stipulated.

"Sorry Lust…" the boy mumbled while groping for a spoon.

Lust sighed again and wiped her spoon off with a napkin, then handed it to Gluttony. "You dropped yours on the floor. Use mine." She offered.

"Thank you." He said softly, now shy because of her scolding.

Lust gave a small smile to let the boy know that she was not angry with him. He smiled back and dove into his parfait again. The waiter returned with the ebony-haired girl's bagel and wished them a good day. Lust began to eat as well.

After their lunch, the duo headed off to the library. Quite a few people were already there, some kids from their neighborhood. Lust pointed at the section Gluttony would probably want to stay in, and he slowly made his way towards the area full of other children. The boy never really got along with others, because he got so shy and reclusive. Lust noticed her brother's depleting mood and gave him a smile, letting him know where she was going and to come get her any time he wanted. He merely nodded with a timid smile and continued walking to the children's section. Once Lust knew that her baby brother would be okay, she went to the teens' section not far off. After all, the kid was only three and not very responsible, so he needed to be watched.

Although she was just barely eleven, Lust loved advanced literature. Most of her books came from the teens' section of the library, sometimes even the adults'. Of course, that area was a bit limited, as she had to check the ratings in case the book was too mature for her. Normally, Lust read supernatural-based stories, like the Harry Potter series, or anything by Rick Riordan. Currently, she was searching for a book by said author – The Serpent's Shadow.

It took an awful lot of seeking, but Lust finally found her beloved book. "And it's the last copy, too!" she whispered happily. As the girl was reaching out to grab the novel, another hand bumped into hers. Startled, she turned to her right to find a boy staring right back at her, his intensions probably the same.

The boy spoke first. "I'm sorry, did you want this book? You can have it." He spoke with a charismatic tone that drew Lust in instantly. This boy must be very popular in school; he looked so compelling to be friends with. He offered her a charming smile, and Lust barely nodded a thanks.

She took the book and looked back towards the boy, who was still standing there, looking at her. "Did you want something?" she asked, realizing how rude that sounded. Of course he wanted something, he wanted the damn book! She may be intelligent, but Lust wasn't known for her people skills.

The boy, who had ebony hair much like her own, jumped a bit at her statement. Lust immediately felt bad for what she had said, and was about to apologize when the boy replied. "Oh, sorry…again," he chuckled. "I just thought you looked a little familiar. Are you by any chance related to the Angevins?"

Lust's eyebrows raised at his question. "Y-yes; how did you know that? And why?" she asked tentatively.

"My parents are friendly with the Angevins. Business-wise, more like. They came home with a picture of the children of your family and I recognized you."

"Oh, wow. I apologize; my parents have never showed me any pictures of you. Speaking of which, what is your name?"

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "Mustang. Roy Mustang. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Lust took Roy's hand and shook it. "I'm Lust. It's very nice to meet you Roy," She gave a slight smile back. "And I see that you have good taste in literature."

Roy nodded. "I've been meaning to get the next book for the series, but hadn't had the time. Now I finally do and someone else wants it!" he joked.

Lust blushed out of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! You can have it, you waited so long!" she insisted, handing the novel back to the other.

The boy chuckled again and pushed the book back, shaking his head. "No, no. I've waited this long, so I can handle a bit longer." He assured her.

Lust still felt bad but accepted his offer anyway. "Alright, if you're so sure."

Roy stated that he'd be looking around for another book, and Lust already had hers, so they said their goodbyes. As soon as the ebony-haired girl turned around, Gluttony was standing in place, a finger in his mouth. "Who was that?" he asked her innocently.

She jumped at his sudden appearance, but calmed down right after. "He's a boy I just met. We like the same book!" Lust enthused.

Gluttony stared at the book in awe. "Pretty colors! Can I read with you?" he asked, pointing a chubby finger at the cover of the novel. Lust nodded happily and took his hand in hers.

"Of course! Let's go check this book out and head back home. It's already almost 4:00." She declared. Gluttony followed the girl to the front desk and out the door, all the way home.

Once back, Lust dropped Gluttony off with Sloth and the two played for a bit, then Sloth fell asleep and Gluttony complained about being hungry. The girl let Ms. Curchik take care of the two and ran up to her room to begin her much awaited novel.


	4. Sunday to Monday

That night at dinner, there was an absence of a few people. A few important people.

"Does anybody know where Mother and Father are?" Envy asked timidly. He felt uncomfortable when they were around, but even more so when they weren't where they should be.

Greed sniffed. "Pride's gone, too. Wonder where they are? Kissing up to someone?" Lust shook her head.

"They're at a special dinner tonight. I remember Mother telling me on Friday. Pride's there, too, because it's actually about his education." She explained, slicing into her chicken.

The spiky-haired boy grew interested. "Oh-ho? His education? What, did Pride do something wrong for once?" he asked with a chuckle. He was leaning forward on the table, which Lust noticed.

"Get off the table, Greed." She demanded, looking at him dead in the eye.

Greed clicked his teeth and with a roll of his eyes, sat back in his chair. "You didn't answer my question, though. Why are they talking about Pride's education?"

Lust didn't respond. Greed let out a harrumph.

After a few minutes of awkward tension at the table, Envy decided to strike up a conversation. "I'm excited to go back ta school t'morrow!" he exclaimed.

"Oh really, why is that?" Lust questioned, continuing to eat. The wild-haired boy smiled.

"I made some new friends! They're really cool an' nice, an' they like Lilac. One's a boy and one's a girl; the boy's name is Ed and he knows lots about…cat….cator…catorpillas?…."

"Caterpillars."

"Right, thanks. Anyway, he knows lots of stuff and even though he's not in m'class we're still gonna play again t'morrow at recess. And the girl! The girl's name is Winry and she helped me with math even though I'm still not so good at maths 'cause the numbers are all weird, but she's real good at counting!"

"That's very nice, Envy. I'm glad you're making friends," Lust replied with a small smile. She turned to her spiky-haired brother. "What about you, Greed? Anything eventful happen on Friday?"

Said brother smirked toothily. "If you count going to the principal's office for pulling a prank on the teacher eventful, sure." He answered darkly.

Lust pursed her lips. "Stop causing trouble for no reason, Greed. It's not getting you anywhere." She said sternly.

"It's getting me into detention." Was his sarcastic response. Lust sighed and turned to her side where Sloth was sleeping on his food.

"Sloth, pick up your head," she told him, then turned to Gluttony. "Don't drink too much of your juice, Gluttony, you'll need to go to the bathroom."

Greed let a moment of silence – minus the small clinking of silverware on plates – pass before asking Lust her own question. "What about you, Lusty? What happened to you on Friday?"

The ebony-haired girl started at the question, pausing her eating. She blinked, regaining herself. "Oh, ah, w-well, nothing much. We're preparing for middle school, so there's no fun and games anymore." Lust replied quickly. You couldn't tell if you weren't apart of the family, but her siblings knew something was wrong by the way Lust reacted to the question.

"You sure?" Greed asked, concerned for once. Envy and Sloth just looked at her.

Lust nodded swiftly and continued to eat, not speaking for the rest of the meal. She couldn't tell them what was really happening, because she knew that they'd try to butt in. And they _couldn't_.

* * *

Lust woke up in the middle of the night to a loud banging noise on her door. She shifted to look at her clock that read that it was only 3:00am; she had to wake up at 6:00am. The girl groaned and sluggishly made her way to the door. When she opened it, a frantic looking Envy was there, looking as if he was about to cry.

"L-Lust! You gotta—you gotta help me! Sh-she's gonna d-die! I-I don't know what's wr-wrong with her an'—an' I need your help!" he rambled, clutching onto his older sister's nightgown.

Lust blinked drowsily and kneeled down to Envy's height. "Deep breaths, Envy. Calm down. Now, can you please tell me what's wrong, slowly?" she asked him.

Envy took a few deep breaths as ordered, then rubbed his eyes. "My-my caterpillar, Lilac. She did somethin' weird an' I dunno what's goin' on!" he whimpered, eyes tearing up. Lust sighed and pat his head softly.

"Come on, show me." She said, standing up and taking Envy's hand as they walked to his room. Once they got there, Envy immediately let go and ran to his pet.

"See? Look! She was perfeckly fine when I got to bed an' now she's all weird lookin' and hangin' on the top of the box!" he pointed to Lilac's container and stifled a sob.

Lust took a closer look at the caterpillar's container, then smiled and turned to her brother. "Envy," she began. "That's natural. Lilac is inside a chrysalis."

"A…chrysalis? What's that?" the boy's voice trembled.

"It's when a caterpillar curls up into a ball-sort-of-state and forms a shell around itself, inside preparing to become something special."

"Somethin' special…you mean a butterfly?!" Envy cried, now much less upset and very excited. Lust nodded.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to sleep. I wake up earlier than you guys." She yawned. Envy grinned and gave Lust a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered, and crawled back into bed. Lust smiled again and walked towards the door.

She turned around and murmured a goodnight, before heading back to her own room.

* * *

The next day began normally, minus the fact that Envy was a bit nervous. Greed noticed this.

"What's up, lil' palm tree? I thought you wanted to go to school today," he asked with a sly grin. "Or did you realize that your friends were actually hallucinations?"

Envy puffed his cheeks, growing red. "Don't' call me a palm tree! An' my friends _are_ real, Greed! So don't be a meanie!" he shouted. Greed shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah. So anyway, what's wrong? You look like I do when Lust catches me after pulling a prank." the spiky-haired boy said.

Envy sighed and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I'm just…worried about Lilac. I know Lust told me that she's gonna be okay but I dunno if she will without me…" he mumbled with his head down.

Greed didn't say anything for a bit, but then pat his brother's head, who was surprised at the action and looked back up at him. "No worries, squirt. Your bug is fine, probably. They don't normally rely on us for help, so I don't think it's gonna randomly die when you're not with it." he explained. Envy nodded solemnly.

Lust walked towards her two brothers, who were standing in the kitchen, clutching her backpack. "You guys ready to go? It's already 7:30 and we have to make it to school before 8." she asked them.

"I'm good, but what about Pride?" Greed asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Lust darted her eyes away for a moment, and her lips twitched. "H-he's not coming with us today. Busy stuff, y'know?" she stuttered, making eye contact again. "Anyway, let's head out if you two are ready."

Envy didn't say anything when grabbing his back, but Greed did. " _How many secrets can you keep?_ **(1)** " he sang while walking outside with the other two. Lust rolled her eyes.

"I'm not hiding anything you need to know." Lust replied, keeping her eyes ahead on the sidewalk.

" _Do I wanna know?_ **(1)** " he continued to sing. The ebony-haired girl didn't answer this time. Greed chuckled. "Whatever."

The two older siblings had noticed that Envy was being quiet for a while now – which was not normal to the Angevin family – so they both stopped in their tracks and turned to the young boy.

Lust suspected what had Envy down immediately. "Envy, I told you, Lilac's going to be okay. You don't need to worry about her. " she assured him in a motherly tone. Greed nodded in agreement.

"I know but," Envy was looking down at the sidewalk. "I miss 'er…" he spoke quietly. Lust took his hand.

"That may be the case, but you've got more people to look forward to. Your friends, remember? What were their names?" she changed the subject. Envy perked up and smiled a little.

"Ed and Winry. They're real nice. I wonder if Ed knew that this'd happen? Prolly," he said. "And I bet that Winry likes butterflies. Everyone likes butterflies!" The little boy had gained back his cheerful demeanor. Lust smiled – plan to avert the caterpillar incident from the topic: success.

The rest of the walk to school consisted of Envy happily going on about his new friends and how much he loved his school now. Not once did they go back to talking about Lilac.

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaaaah I am sooooo sorry for such a late update! I really do not want to update this monthly, but midterms and stress and UGH! Anyway, thanks so so so much for all the lovely reviews and support on this story. I was even advertised on Tumblr by miles-to-go2, which was awesome! :D**

 **(1) These lines are from the song "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys - interesting band, something Lust would probably be into.**

 **As for the secrets Lust is hiding...no worries! We will get to those in later chapters. You might be able to guess what's up with Lust, but I highly doubt you'll be able to know about Pride. We'll just have to wait and see :)**


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